aerotropic

aero- +‎ -tropic, see also aerotropism.

• Rhymes: -ɒpɪk

aerotropic (not comparable)

1. (biology) growing towards higher concentrations of oxygen
   • 1950, Walter Stiles, An Introduction to the Principles of Plant Physiology:

     According to him, roots are positively aerotropic, a root executing a curvature tending to bring the apex in the direction of the highest oxygen concentration, while pollen tubes growing in water are in this sense negatively aerotropic.

   • 1894, American Microscopical Society, Proceedings of the American Microscopical Society:

     The branches of the main root tend to be aerotropic, whether they are in shallow water or mud or deeply submerged.

   • 1921, Frederic Edward Clements, Aeration and Air-content: The Rôle of Oxygen in Root Activity:

     The horizontal growth of the roots upon the water is an aerotropic movement determined by the high oxygen-content of the uppermost water-layer.

   • 1972, Excerpta botanica: Taxonomica et chorologica. Sectio A:

     The lower portion of this aerotropic root-branch bears numerous laterals which grow downward, in a positively geotropic direction.

• geotropic